Documentary Australia Foundation

In The Company Of Actors

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Synopsis

“From a rehearsal room in Sydney through to opening night in New York, a company of actors reveals the magic and struggle of creating theatre.”

Within the world of theatre the rehearsal room is a sacred space - the private domain where boundaries are pushed, risks are taken, mistakes made, vulnerabilities exposed and, at its very best, magic created. It is not a place into which the public is often, if ever, invited. Until now…

In The Company of Actors is a documentary featuring an ensemble of Australia's finest actors, Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Anthony Weigh, Justine Clarke, Aden Young, Julie Hamilton and Annie Byron, as they prepare to perform the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Hedda Gabler, at the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.

With only five weeks until Opening Night the demanding rehearsal process begins. They all feel the enormous weight of expectation placed upon them. The New York season is totally sold out and Cate Blanchett's photograph is all over town.

In raw and intimate detail the film takes the audience behind the curtains to observe the actors immersed in the creative process. We discover that presenting a seemingly effortless performance is a complex, detailed, technical and exhaustive process, with the director and writer and their teams of artists and technicians working 18 hour days at high levels of intensity. As we enter their world, we feel and understand their deeply ingrained love of theatre and their passion for telling stories.

The Director of the play, Robyn Nevin is a perfectionist, paying great attention to every detail - every word is analysed and questioned, every move and gesture blocked until perfect. In a bold departure from tradition, Nevin has commissioned a new and modern interpretation of the play from Australian writer Andrew Upton. How will a reputedly sophisticated and highly critical New York audience receive this adaptation in an Australian voice?

After three weeks in the sweltering heat of the Sydney rehearsal room, the cast and crew fly out to New York, to the bitter cold of a Brooklyn winter. The actors have only two weeks left in which to hone their performances in new and unfamiliar surroundings, before exposing their own version of Henrik Ibsen's classic.

In The Company of Actors observes the highly collaborative nature of theatre as the production gradually takes shape. The production itself becomes a major character in the film, as it is pushed and pulled from all creative directions.

Opening night looms closer. The intensity increases. Nerves entrap the cast. As their 5-minute call is announced over the dressing room speaker, the actors scramble for their positions in the wings. The capacity audience eagerly waits for the play to begin. The house lights go down. The actors are ready. The stage manager calls her first direction:

“Sound cue one… and Cate… go.”

Impact

1. DVD Donation Program

Through a grant from The Caledonia Foundation funding was committed to donate a DVD of In the Company of Actors to every Secondary School in Australia. This major Outreach and Education campaign commenced in the second half of 2007. To accompany the screening of the DVD, all teachers throughout Australia have access to a comprehensive Study Guide and Teachers Kit for both the film of In the Company of Actors and for the play Hedda Gabler. It is hoped these will provide the framework for inspiring lessons and class discussion.

Message from The Caledonia Foundation:

The Caledonia Foundation has been a proud supporter of the Performing and Visual Arts in Australia, with one of its primary objectives to use the Arts to educate, inspire, create behavioral change and engage with young Australians. The DVD Donation Program is targeted directly at the grass roots - the next generation of emerging artists, theatre practitioners and audience members in this country. Through a co-ordinated Outreach and Education program accompanying the documentary, the DVD Donation Program has been designed to encourage a deeper understanding of theatre, and to inspire a new generation of young Australians to connect with this vital and important art form.

It aims to show students the work of different members of a theatre cast and crew, so that they may consider the possibility of entering the world of theatre as a career. Most of the cast in the film (actors, directors, production designers, stage managers etc), typically found their inspiration for drama at school. These formative years were vital in their personal journeys towards a career in the theatre industry. We hope that students throughout Australia will be empowered by the actors and production crew's passion, perseverance and commitment to the production, the art of theatre and the theatre industry.

The Caledonia Foundation is delighted to support an initiative which provides students with an opportunity to realise their own ability, and to embrace and utilize the Arts as a way of learning more about themselves, their own cultures and the cultures of others. We hope the DVD donation will provoke discussion about the power of theatre and the importance of telling stories (our stories and other peoples stories), and influence the way young Australians see the world. We hope this grant will provide a high return on social capital, and that it will support the sustainability and advancement of our own Arts and culture in Australia for the current and future generations.

2. Film Festival Screenings

The filmmakers aim to connect with a wide of audience throughout Australia and around the world at a variety of film festivals. The film has already screened at the following festivals:
Melbourne International Film Festival
Big Screen 2007 Touring Australian Films
Sydney Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
DOCNZ Documentary Film Festival
Cinema des Antipodes Saint Tropez

3. Community Screenings

The filmmakers intend to conduct a variety of screenings in Sydney and around Australia to promote theatre and the Arts.

Parliament House screening, Canberra 2007 - 15 August 2007

On the 15 August, 2007, The Honorable Senator George Brandis, Minister for the Arts, hosted a screening of In the Company of Actors at Parliament House, Canberra, for Ministers, Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and their staff. Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Andrew Upton and Mary Macrae (all of whom appear in the film) were present together with Producer/Director Ian Darling. Following the film screening Cate Blanchett spoke to the audience about the documentary, its educational objectives and the importance of maintaining and encouraging a vibrant theatre industry in Australia.

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